Nelder Grove
Encyclopedia
Nelder Grove is a sequoia grove located in the Sierra National Forest
, Madera County, California
. It is a 1540 acre (6.2 km²) tract containing over 100 mature Giant Sequoias. It also contains a number of sequoia stumps, left over from when the area was logged prior to its acquisition by the United States Forest Service
in 1928. A National Forest campground is also present.
Some of the trees and trails found in the grove that are worthy of special note are:
s, ponderosa pine
s, white fir
s, and incense-cedars, but they did cut down some of the sequoias as well.
The grove is named after John A. Nelder, who was called by John Muir
the "Hermit of the Fresno Forest"; Muir wrote about him and the area in 1878; the description was later included in his book Our National Parks http://www.sierraclub.org/john_muir_exhibit/frameindex.html?http://www.sierraclub.org/john_muir_exhibit/writings/our_national_parks/chapter_9.html:
Sierra National Forest
Sierra National Forest is a U.S. National Forest located on the western slope of central Sierra Nevada in the state of California. The forest is known for its mountain scenery and natural resources. Forest headquarters are located in Clovis, California...
, Madera County, California
Madera County, California
Madera County is a county of the U.S. state of California, located in the Central Valley and the Sierra Nevada north of Fresno County. It comprises the Madera-Chowchilla, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census the population was 150,865...
. It is a 1540 acre (6.2 km²) tract containing over 100 mature Giant Sequoias. It also contains a number of sequoia stumps, left over from when the area was logged prior to its acquisition by the United States Forest Service
United States Forest Service
The United States Forest Service is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 155 national forests and 20 national grasslands, which encompass...
in 1928. A National Forest campground is also present.
Noteworthy trees
- Bull Buck Tree: this tree reaches a height of 246 feet (75 m) and has a ground-level circumference of 100 feet (30 m) but only a volume of 27383 cubic feet (775.4 m³), thus not among the top 40 giant sequoias.
- Graveyard of the Giants: an area which contains a number of large sequoias killed by a wildfireWildfireA wildfire is any uncontrolled fire in combustible vegetation that occurs in the countryside or a wilderness area. Other names such as brush fire, bushfire, forest fire, desert fire, grass fire, hill fire, squirrel fire, vegetation fire, veldfire, and wilkjjofire may be used to describe the same...
, a fate rarely encountered due to the sequoia's protective bark; - Shadow of the Giants National Recreation TrailNational Recreation TrailNational Recreation Trail is a designation given to existing trails that contribute to health, conservation, and recreation goals in the United States. Over 1,000 trails in all 50 U.S. states, available for public use and ranging from less than a mile to in length, have been designated as NRTs...
: a trail constructed in 1965 which was established as a National Recreation Trail in 1978; - Remnants of the area's logging days: including two restored cabins and replicas of cross-log and two-pole log chuteLog flumeA log flume is a flume specifically constructed to transport lumber and logs down mountainous terrain to a sawmill by using flowing water. These watertight trough-like channels could be built to span a long distance across chasms and down steep mountain slopes...
s. - Nelder Tree: The largest tree in the grove at 34993 cubic feet (990.9 m³); it is the 22nd largest giant sequoia in the world.
- Old Grandad Tree: A tremendously rugged tree atop a hill, there is reason to believe this is a very old tree.
Muir's description
The area was logged extensively from 1878 until the mid-1890s by the Madera Flume and Trading company. They logged mostly sugar pineSugar Pine
Pinus lambertiana, commonly known as the sugar pine or sugar cone pine, is the tallest and most massive pine, with the longest cones of any conifer...
s, ponderosa pine
Ponderosa Pine
Pinus ponderosa, commonly known as the Ponderosa Pine, Bull Pine, Blackjack Pine, or Western Yellow Pine, is a widespread and variable pine native to western North America. It was first described by David Douglas in 1826, from eastern Washington near present-day Spokane...
s, white fir
White Fir
White Fir is a fir native to the mountains of western North America, occurring at altitudes of 900-3,400 m. It is a medium to large evergreen coniferous tree growing to 25–60 m tall and with a trunk diameter of up to 2 m . It is popular as an ornamental landscaping tree and as a Christmas Tree...
s, and incense-cedars, but they did cut down some of the sequoias as well.
The grove is named after John A. Nelder, who was called by John Muir
John Muir
John Muir was a Scottish-born American naturalist, author, and early advocate of preservation of wilderness in the United States. His letters, essays, and books telling of his adventures in nature, especially in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, have been read by millions...
the "Hermit of the Fresno Forest"; Muir wrote about him and the area in 1878; the description was later included in his book Our National Parks http://www.sierraclub.org/john_muir_exhibit/frameindex.html?http://www.sierraclub.org/john_muir_exhibit/writings/our_national_parks/chapter_9.html:
- One of the first special things that caught my attention was an extensive landslipLandslideA landslide or landslip is a geological phenomenon which includes a wide range of ground movement, such as rockfalls, deep failure of slopes and shallow debris flows, which can occur in offshore, coastal and onshore environments...
. The ground on the side of a stream had given way to a depth of about fifty feet [15 m] and with all its trees had been launched into the bottom of the stream ravine. Most of the trees--pines, firs, incense-cedar, and Sequoia--were still standing erect and uninjured, as if unconscious that anything out of the common had happened. Tracing the ravine alongside the avalanche, I saw many trees whose roots had been laid bare, and in one instance discovered a Sequoia about fifteen feet [5 m] in diameter growing above an old prostrate trunk that seemed to belong to a former generation. This slip had occurred seven or eight years ago, and I was glad to find that not only were most of the Big Trees uninjured, but that many companies of hopeful seedlings and saplings were growing confidently on the fresh soil along the broken front of the avalanche. These young trees were already eight or ten feet [2 or 3 m] high, and were shooting up vigorously, as if sure of eternal life, though young pines, firs, and libocedrus were running a race with them for the sunshine with an even start. Farther down the ravine I counted five hundred and thirty-six promising young Sequoias on a bed of rough bouldery soil not exceeding two acres [8,000 m²] in extent.
External links
- Map of the area (the White Chief Mountain Quad), from the Sierra National ForestSierra National ForestSierra National Forest is a U.S. National Forest located on the western slope of central Sierra Nevada in the state of California. The forest is known for its mountain scenery and natural resources. Forest headquarters are located in Clovis, California...
website